ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Looking for work? Try North Dekota

fyi...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Americas-Boomtown-North-cnnm-1424053087.html

Anyone from around there can shine a little light?

sparkyak:

Thanks, that's a nice read.

I believe that ND has had a very, very low unemployement rate for some years. Only issue I would have is....it's cold!! (Not that I'm looking to relocate)

Why not Minot?
Freezn's the reason.

North Dakota is an amazing place. Friendly people, and nearly zero for a crime rate.

Before this recent oil boom, their state motto was 'keep going, there's no work here!.'

Towns typically have population swings of something like 80%, comparing July to January. There's nothing between you and the North Pole but a few strands of barb-wire fence, and temps of -40 are common. To steal a line from "True Grit" .... if you want a decent burial, have the decency to die in the summer.

Hey! I'm between Williston and the North Pole.

I have family in Williston. The oil boom has driven prices way up. The rent for an apartment is approaching $3k per month, if you can find a place. The work camps are the only option.

-40 isn't really that common. It only happens for a week or two each year. The rest of the time it's only -20.

Seriously, if you head to North Dakota, set money aside for warm clothing and buy it from a place that caters to oil workers in cold places. Most companies will require fire retardant clothing. "Fire retardant" is industry jargon for "not warm". What you wear underneath is real important.

If you have a block heater in your vehicle, you already know what to expect for weather. If you don't know what a block heater is - get one and good luck.

An actress worked in Winnipeg (also between N.D. and the N.P.) coined the phrase "nostricle". That's the icicle that forms under your nose. You'll learn some other words to describe the cold, too.

Get a passport. You might want to visit Santa and the north pole isn't in the U.S.

I get cold just thinking about it. It got down to 57 here last night and I had my Hudson Bay blanket over me sitting in the chair.

I did like the Dakotas in the summer time but I would have to be a snow bird, bailing out about 9 months of the year.